Exploring the Arsenal – Armando Galarraga

Exploring the Arsenal will run prior to each game, providing you with a brief scouting report on the starting pitcher expected to oppose the Pirates. The chart below shows the horizontal and vertical movement of every pitch thrown by that particular pitcher in 2012. This chart is from the catcher’s point of view. Click here for a general guide to pitch types and classifications. Graphs are courtesy of Brooks Baseball and The Hardball Times , unless otherwise specified. Statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs .

Saturday, 7:05 PM – Armando Galarraga

(2011 Pitches)

2012 (AAA)

IP

43.2

K/PA

16.5%

BB/PA

9.6%

HR/9

1.44

GB%

n/a

ERA

4.12

FIP

5.38

Galarraga is making his first big league appearance of 2012, after struggling through nine starts at Triple-A. He has a very hittable fastball that sits around 89-92 MPH and has occasionally touched 94. His 89-91 MPH sinker has limited movement and does not generate many ground balls. Galarraga’s best pitch is his 84-87 MPH slider, which he has historically gone to on more than a third of his pitches. He also throws an 82-86 MPH changeup. Galarraga’s slider is a solid pitch, with a whiff rate right around league average. None of his other offerings are all that effective, as they rarely miss bats and often lead to hard contact. Galarraga has not pitched in the majors since May 2011, so it is possible that his approach has changed a bit since we last saw him.

1 COMMENT

That sounds like he will be an easy foe to beat, but don’t forget that this is the guy who pitched a no-hitter last year but was robbed of it by a bad umpire call.
He can pitch a good game once in a while, I wouldn’t underestimate him.